As daylight fades: Tornado strikes Nashville

EDITORIAL

     As the daylight broke on March 2, a tornado struck down in Nashville, tearing through central Tennessee.   It blew through countless areas including airports and destroyed dozens of buildings.

     Were the local citizens prepared? Not at all. But that’s to be expected since the storm hit in the middle of the night. 

     Jordan Tidey expresses her opinion on this when she says, “I feel as sometimes it’s very hard to prepare for these types of events, but if as much is done as possible then less panic may take place, and more lives may be saved.” 

      According to meteorologist Janice Dean, the tornado was estimated to be an EF-3. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says, “EF-3s have wind between 136 and 165 mph and create severe damage.” 

    While the reality is that most of us will never have to face this kind of storm, the possibility exists.  And since that is the case, we had better know what to do when it does.

  Failure to do this, means people die.  In Tennessee, at least 22 people died and police and fire crews spent hours pulling survivors and bodies from wrecked buildings. 

     This tornado exploded in the night time leaving no one prepared for any of this to happen. People went to bed with no idea that when they woke up  they would not have a roof on their house. 

     As the tornado hit, power lines went down, schools were shut down, Nashville International’s sister airport in West Nashville was demolished, and huge trees left the streets a mess. 

     This kind of devastation is catastrophic, and that means the people who survived will need all the resources available to them to help them rebuild. 

        Senior Jordan Tidey expresses her thoughts about this tragedy as she says, “Nobody should have to go through such destruction and heartbreak that these types of events cause.” 

      Nashville Mayor John Cooper says, “Last night was a reminder about how fragile life is.” 

     “We send our love and our prayers of the nation to every family that was affected. We will get there, and we will recover, and we will rebuild, and we will help them,” says President Donald Trump. 

     It may be hard to know how to prepare for these events, or what to do, because sometimes they come out of nowhere. In that case, asking for preparation is like asking for the impossible, but a plan for how to respond when it does is imperative to getting life back to normal, or as close to it as possible.